Unit Overview
In The Best of Bugs: Designing Hand Pollinators, students explore insects and plants and apply agricultural engineering to solve a pollination problem. The unit begins with the storybook Mariana Becomes a Butterfly, in which a girl named Mariana living in the Dominican Republic explores the field of Agricultural Engineering to figure out why her ohelo plant won’t make berries. Over the course of the unit, students learn about agricultural pest management, the life cycles of plants, and the interdependence of insect pollinators and plants. Like Mariana, students then follow the steps of the Engineering Design Process to imagine, plan, create, and improve their own hand pollinators.
Core Program Unit Components
We recommend one Educator Guide per teacher, one Storybook per student, and one Materials Kit per 30 learners. Together, these components create a high-quality, hands-on STEM learning experience.
Program Components
Print + Digital:
- Printed copy of the Educator Guide containing instructions to facilitate the unit
- One (1) copy of the printed accompanying Storybook
- Digital access to the Educator Guide via yes.mos.org/curricula
- Digital PDF of the Storybook
Additional Program Components
- Storybook
- Available in print and digital for individual purchase to accommodate any class size
- Materials Kit
- Includes materials to support 30 learners
Ten Resources for Diverse Learners
As a set of high-impact resources, the Resources for Diverse Learners are designed to help remove distractions and decrease literacy demands so that all students can succeed in engineering and problem solving. They contain built-in vocabulary support, suggestions for objects to create context and background, multiple points of entry for different learning styles, and multiple ways for learners to express understanding meet the needs of today’s diverse classroom.
| Resource for Diverse Learners | Included in the Teacher Guide | Packaged with the Teacher Guide | Included in Digital Unit |
| Student Discussion Support | * | * | * |
| Teacher Discussion Support | * | * | * |
| English Learner Strategies | * | * | * |
| Differentiation Duplication Masters | * | * | * |
| Flip book StorybookEnglish and Spanish1 | * | * | |
| Character Cards1 | * | * | |
| Visual Vocabulary Cards1 | * | * | |
| Illustrated Engineering Design Poster - English | 8.5x11in. included (available for sale in 20x30 in.) |
* | |
| Illustrated Engineering Design Poster - Spanish | 8.5x11in. included (available for sale in 20x30 in.) |
* | |
| Materials Reference Sheet1 | * | * | |
| Alternative Lesson Progression | * |
1 Spanish version available in the Digital Unit only.
Create a STEM mindset. Implement engineering with fidelity. Partner with EiE to create a culture of STEM and problem solving and you learn best practices for teaching STEM and share knowledge through Team Professional Days, EiE training courses and Teacher-in- Residence programs. Explore our professional development programs and start with STEM.
Shipping: Expected shipping time will be approximately 8-10 business days from the receipt of your order.
Tax Exemption: If your school or institution has a tax exemption number, please fill this in during the checkout process where requested. If using a purchase order, please be sure to include tax exemption numbers on the appropriate paperwork.
Return Policy: Product in original condition may be returned within 30 days of receipt for refund or replacement. Customer is responsible for shipping charges.